“I have so many wonderful memories of this great man that will be with me forever," Sir Paul wrote on his website on Wednesday. "He was a true gentleman and like a second father to me. He guided the career of The Beatles with such skill and good humour that he became a true friend to me and my family.

“If anyone earned the title of the fifth Beatle it was George. From the day that he gave The Beatles our first recording contract, to the last time I saw him, he was the most generous, intelligent and musical person I’ve ever had the pleasure to know.”

He added: “The world has lost a truly great man who left an indelible mark on my soul and the history of British music.”

Martin was born in London in 1926 and fought in World War II in the Royal Navy. After leaving his military services in 1947, he studied piano and oboe. By the 1950s, he was recording jazz and comedy records for Parlophone Records where he would become the head of A&R.

In 1962, he met Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager, who introduced him to the band. After hearing the Fab Four, he would eventually sign them to his label and produce all of their albums, except for Let It Be, which was produced by Phil Spector.

After the Beatles split in 1970, he continued to work as a producer. He would go on to produce the score and theme song of the James Bond film, Live and Let Die, which McCartney recorded with his post-Beatles band Wings. He also worked The Who, Jeff Beck, Cheap Trick, Celine Dion, some of the solo work of McCartney and fellow Beatle Ringo Starr. In 1997, he worked with Elton John and produced “Candle In the Wind,” which was a tribute to Princess Diana and would go on to become one of the biggest selling singles of all time.

In the years prior to his death, he oversaw the remastering of The Beatles catalogue as well as the arrangements for The Beatles Anthology series and the band’s Cirque du Soleil show, Love, in Las Vegas, which he worked on with his son, Giles.

Many of his colleagues and fans took to social media to remember the musical icon who had helped create the soundtrack of their lives.